The Scorption and the Turtle

Dear Friends,

Let me share with you a brief story that is quite famous here in Israel. I think it speaks for itself.

The Scorpion and the Turtle

The Scorpion came to the riverbank and wanted to cross but could not swim it himself. He saw a turtle swimming in the river and called to the turtle to carry him across on his back. The Turtle looked up at the Scorpion and said: “Why would I take you on my back across the river? At the first chance, you will sting me and I will die.” The Scorpion said to the Turtle: “Silly Turtle, why would I sting you? If I sting you while we are crossing the river, you would die and I would drown.” The Turtle saw the logic in the Scorpion’s argument and agreed to carry the Scorpion across the river. The Scorpion climbed on the back of the Turtle and as the Turtle reached the halfway point of river, the Scorpion stung the Turtle. As the Turtle was dying and sinking into the river he gasped: “Why did you sting me, for now we will both die?” The Scorpion responded: “Yes, that is true, but you forget, this is the Middle East.”

Even "THEY" feel it sometimes...

Imagine a mixed group of Americans, Israelis, and Jordanians sitting on a rooftop one breezy evening in Israel, chatting and planning about environmental protection and social dialogue between their various peoples. A group of five Palestinian students are discreetly missing, having not been able to make it over the border for the past 1.5 weeks. Imagine further that a Jordanian cell phone rings once, cancelled, rings again, cancelled, and on the third time, the Jordanian picks up ready to scold his friend for interrupting him. Two minutes later he returns, ashen-faced, and informs the group that multiple bombs have torn through various hotels in the capital of Jordan, Amman.

Almost as if choreographed, the other Jordanians stand up quietly amidst a shocked silence and droop over to the nearest vacant corner, madly punching numbers into their phones. The Israelis look on with a mixture of surprise, solemnitude, and a lot of understanding. They, too, have been in that position with a cell phone and a piece of bad news--probably more times than they would like to recount. As a volley of Arabic erupts from the corners of the roof, crescendoing as each one reaches a family member in Amman, the Israelis look at each other and glumly agree, "It's the same all over." And on this, they are right. Anyone put in the position of "victim" can understand why the feelings and responses are almost universal, cross-cultural.

The group disburses as the Arabs finish their calls and report a ambivalent "everyone's ok." Five minutes later, CNN bursts onto the scene, sounding like they were the first ones their. The Jordanians look on in amusement. "The one thing Arabs never do, they never let the media come inside," one of the Jordanians points out. Surely enough, after twenty minutes, CNN camerapersons are still taping the stark-faced soldiers preventing entry into the Hyatt, Radisson, and Days Inn. Soon, beautiful maps of the region start appearing, showing clearly where Amman lies in relation to Jerusalem, Beirut, and Iraq. An info blip appears declaring that King Abdullah of Jordan has condemned the bombers. One Jordanian girl turns from the TV and quietly says, "At least all those silly Americans will know where Jordan is now, and who King Abdullah is. Michael Jordan has made explaining my country very hard."

Questions: Okay so they targeted American outposts in Jordan, but King Abdullah and none of the Jordanians here seemed at all relieved by this fact. Killing was killing, and it happened on their land. How will this type of terrorism fare in the future?